FishDoc
Well-Known Member
Ice fishing for Kokanee is a very popular winter activity in British Columbia and a lot of the western United States. Even though they may not be the biggest fish, they make up with their large schooling numbers and aggressive feeding behaviour throughout the winter months. The size largely depends on the fishery density and food availability. Generally these fish feed on planktonic creatures, daphnia or water fleas. They readily take small jigs and spoons under the ice. Typically a flashing spoon is placed several inches above the lure which attracts the school of fish over for closer investigation of your lure. They seem to like the constant movement of the jig. Gets them aggressive and keeps their interest until one is caught. Make sure you get your line back down as quick as possible because when the school is in the area you can have several minutes of constant action.
This video shows how fast the action can go and gives you a nice shot of a very large school under the ice. Also my rig is shown at the end of the video if you're interested. Most times these fish are suspended over deep water anywhere from right under the ice to 30 feet down. Once in a while I catch them as deep as 60 feet. Anyways if you're planning on getting out there is still some time left to go catch some kokanee. Get out and have some fun before the ice is gone!
